Bach, Johann Sebastian / Sonatas And Partitas For Solo Violin (Rachel Barton Pine, Violin), The

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2016-08-15 Pull Date: 2016-10-17 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Aug 28
Airplays: 1

Recent Airplay
1. Aug 22, 2016: Mixed Up Class
Allegro Assai (4:51)

Album Review
Gary Lemco
Reviewed 2016-08-11
Bach’s 1720 Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001–1006) are a set of six works, also called the Sonatas and Partias for solo violin: "Partia" was common in German-speaking regions in Bach's time, whereas the Italian "Partita" was given to this set in the 1879 Bach Gesellschaft edition, having become standard by then. The set consists of three sonate da chiesa, in four movements, and three partitas (or partias), in dance-form movements.
The set was first published in 1802 by Nikolaus Simrock in Bonn, but was largely ignored until celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim started performing it. Today, Bach's Sonatas and Partitas are an essential part of the violin repertoire, frequently performed and recorded. The Sei Solo – a violino senza Basso accompagnato, as Bach titled them, firmly established the violin’s technical capability as a solo instrument. The pieces often served as archetypes for solo violin pieces by later composers, including Eugène Ysaÿe and Béla Bartók.
Each of the six works has its idiosyncratic style and virtuoso element: the G Minor Sonata offers the most concise of the cycle’s three fugues; the E Major Partita opens with an exuberant, polyphonic Preludio that exploits the bariolage (rotating arpeggios) technique; the A Minor Sonata resembles a work for harpsichord, with an opening Grave in the Italian style of an organ prelude; the Partita in D Minor follows the French style superficially, but Bach enters new, massive territory in the Ciaccona, which provides a true test of any violinist’s musical and physical mettle. The C Major Sonata contains one of the longest fugue mvmts Bach ever composed; the Largo section presents a lovely aria with its own accompaniment.

Track Listing
1. Disc 1. Sonata I In G Minor, Bwv 1001. Adagio (3:30)   14. Corrente (2:43
2. Fuga (4:50)   15. Sarabanda (3:48)
3. Siciliana (2:33)   16. Giga (3:55)
4. Presto (3:23)   17. Ciaccona (11:36)
5. Partita No. 1 In B Minor, Bwv 1002. Allemanda -Double (7:04)   18. Sonata No. 3 In C Major, Bwv 1005. Adagio (3:59)
6. Corrente - Double (6:38)   19. Fuga (9:04)
7. Sarabande - Double (3:18)   20. Largo (2:53)
8. Tempo Di Borea - Double (8:28)   21. Allegro Assai (4:51)
9. Sonata No. 2 In A Minor, Bwv 1003. Grave (3:27)   22. Partita No. 3 In E Major, Bwv 1006. Preludio (3:33)
10. Fuga (6:44)   23. Loure (3:51)
11. Andante (5:22)   24. Gavotte En Rondeau (2:42)
12. Allegro (5:16)   25. Menuet I - Menuet Ii (4:02)
13. Disc 2. Partita No. 2 In D Minor, Bwv 1004. Allemande (4:01)   26. Bouree (1:36)
  27. Gigue (1:53)